João Cruz Ribeiro is a PhD candidate working on the Political Theory of the European Union. His research aims at understanding how helpful can the Neo-republican normative program be to the debate about European Union Citizenship. This is developed in two streams: the first depart from the assumption that the legal dimension of EU Citizenship is over-stretched; it then considers which implications should be withdrawn in that respect from a normative Neo-republican perspective. The second intends to assess whether the European Court of Justice’s judicial review can work according to this normative program and still remain compatible with democratic legitimacy requirements.

He has previously pursued legal studies (Law School, University of Porto) and received a Master in European Legal Studies from the College of Europe – Bruges. More recently, he has been enrolled in the Master in Political Philosophy, at Instituto de Letras e Ciências Humanas (University of Minho).